For these warm summer months, I’m posting a selection of pieces relevant to this time of year. I hope you find them useful and of inspiration.
First, from my book Daily Prayer 2:
Son rise
Read
Awake, you who sleep! Rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine upon you. Ephesians 5:14b
Ponder
It was the summer solstice, and once again crowds had gathered to welcome the rising sun. They were a mixed bunch – Druids, New Age devotees and travellers among them – but they were there with a common purpose: to celebrate and give thanks. I don’t share their beliefs but I can appreciate their sentiments, for there’s no denying that the sun brightens our lives, making everything somehow feel better when it shines. More important, without its life-giving energy this planet of ours would be barren and lifeless, devoid of the wonders we take for granted.
As Christians, though, we celebrate a rising of a different kind: not of the sun but the Son. We celebrate the victory of Christ over death; of good over evil, light over darkness
and love over hatred. We exult in the empty tomb and the message of the resurrection – good news that changed not just history but the destiny of us all for ever. Here is a rising that shapes everything we are and do; that makes life not only feel better but actually be better, for it is able to transform lives, including our own. What we are now is never the final word. Our mistakes, our weaknesses, our trials and our sorrows are not the end of the story, for through the risen Christ God offers a new dawn to all. Don’t just give thanks today; rejoice every day in what he has done for you and for all.
Ask yourself
In what things do people seek light for their lives? How and why do these disappoint? In what ways does Christ give light for living?
Pray
Almighty God, thank you that my faith in life and hope in the future are based not on some passing natural phenomenon but on the wonder of your love, the miracle of your resurrection power through which you are able to make all things new. Thank you that in the night-time experiences of life, when everything can seem hopeless – moments of sorrow, suffering, fear, anxiety, despair and disillusionment, even death itself – you are able to bring a new dawn, as your light breaks into the darkness and shines brightly once more. May that joyful truth at the heart of Easter shape everything I think, feel, say and do, offering daily encouragement and inspiration, until that time when I rejoice for ever in your presence and you will be all the light I can ever need, for evermore. Amen.
Remember
The God who decreed ‘Let light shine in the darkness’ has illuminated our hearts, filling them with the radiant knowledge of God’s glory revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6
Close
Thank you, Lord, that your light that scattered the darkness of the tomb continues to shine today, and that nothing finally will ever be able to overcome it. Amen.
Next, from my book Touching Down:
The sunburn
I should have covered up,
or splashed on the sun cream,
but I didn’t …
and paid the price,
that extra half-hour in the sun a half-hour too much,
turning a healthy tan into an ugly burn,
a moment’s pleasure into a week of pain.
So much in life, Lord, is special
when enjoyed in moderation,
but I indulge to excess,
time and again craving that little bit more,
rarely content with what I have.
Remind me that we can all have too much of a good thing,
and help me to recognise when enough is enough.
Amen.
The curtains
The sun was too bright,
pouring in through the window,
so I pulled across the curtains
until the light dimmed
and I could open them once more.
But when it grew dark,
I closed them again,
this time keeping light in lest prying eyes intrude.
Forgive me, Lord,
for I do much the same with your light,
stopping it from both shining in or out.
Pull back the curtains I close against you,
so that the light of your love
and radiance of your presence
may flood into my heart
and out through my life.
Amen.
And from Touched by His Hand:
The breeze
It caressed my cheek,
gentle and soothing,
offering welcome relief
from the heat of the noontime sun,
and then it was gone to who knows where.
What stories could it tell?
What places had it seen?
What forms taken,
lives touched,
paths followed?
Had it raged in a tropical storm,
whipped up desert sand,
or whistled over polar ice sheets?
Had it sped yachtsmen across the ocean,
lifted eagles high above mountain peaks,
sent leaves cascading from bronze-leafed woodland?
Or was this the start of a new journey,
the tranquil air stirring from silent slumber
to wild wakefulness?
Lord, remind me
that I can no more fathom the workings of your mind
than control the course of the wind;
that I can never know, still less dictate,
where and when you will move,
or in what ways and among whom
you may choose to act.
Open my life to whatever you would do,
wherever, whenever and however you choose to do it.
Amen.
The sunglasses
They shielded my eyes from the worst of the glare,
allowing me to gaze for a moment at the setting sun
and glimpse its glory,
a golden ball of light.
Without them I was dazzled,
the light too much to bear,
forcing me to look away.
Before you also, Lord, I must turn aside,
your splendour too intense,
your brightness too awesome,
and yet, through Christ, I glimpse your grace and glory,
wonderful beyond words.
For now it is partial,
as though I look through darkened glasses,
but it is enough and more than enough
to lighten my path
and illuminate my soul.
Shine now,
shine always,
through his radiant love.
Amen.